Who will lead the ANC? Paul Mashatile and Zweli Mkhize (above) have overwhelming support in KZN and from Eastern Cape’s Babalo Madikizela (below). Photos: Rajesh Jantilal & Feliz Dlangamandla/Gallo Images
While behind-the-scenes talks between provincial leaders in the ANC are still in their infancy, sources close to the horse-trading negotiations say that the KwaZulu-Natal leadership has maintained its positive stance around Dr Zweli Mkhize.
The Mail & Guardian can now reveal that the KwaZulu-Natal top brass has met with at least three influential provinces in the ANC — Gauteng, Limpopo and Mpumalanga — saying that they do not wish to see a second term for ANC president Cyril Ramaphosa.
KwaZulu-Natal is expected to pronounce on its preferred leaders as early as Tuesday, with the latest indication being that the province is leaning towards the disgraced former health minister as its preferred candidate to contest Ramaphosa for the governing party’s top job at its December conference.
On Wednesday evening, the eThekwini region was the first to announce that it had resolved to support Mkhize for president and Paul Mashatile for deputy president.
Naming its regional meeting a “festival of ideas,” the eThekwini region — the biggest in the ANC — said that there was a strong public perception that the governing party no longer focused on the “real issues” of service delivery and improving the lives of citizens.
“Critically, the festival agreed that a new president and new deputy president are needed to refocus the ANC and ultimately change the future of South Africa.
“In this regard, chairs and secretaries agreed on Mkhize as future president and Mashatile as deputy president. For other positions, the regional executive committee will engage other regions as guided by the ANC provincial executive committee,” the region said in a statement.
It is understood that the Mzala Nxumalo region, Moses Mabidha region and Jozini sub-region have also endorsed Mkhize.
The eThekwini region has in the past played kingmaker for top six positions — including former president Jacob Zuma — and other regions have relied on its support. It also supported Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma’s failed presidential bid at the 2017 Nasrec conference where Ramaphosa was instead elected, albeit by a narrow margin.
Dlamini-Zuma’s late entry to the debate around contestation has been rejected by eThekwini despite the tacit endorsement of her campaign by her ex-husband, the former president Jacob Zuma.
According to party insiders close to the talks, negotiations within the KZN province have resulted in a deadlock as it has told provincial leaders that it will support Mkhize and Eastern Cape’s Phumulo Masualle as secretary general. This was pronounced at a meeting with the Mpumalanga top brass who flew down to Durban on 12 September, according to insiders.
The Mpumalanga top brass is allegedly at odds over the preferred national leadership position, with deputy secretary Lindiwe Ntshalintshali allegedly saying that she did “not fully support” a second term for Ramaphosa.
With Mpumalanga provincial treasurer Mandla Msibi having been brought back into the fold after murder charges against him where withdrawn, the two provincial figures are expected to lobby support for deputy president David Mabuza ahead of Ramaphosa.
This despite the majority in the provincial executive committee (PEC) having expressed the view that Ramaphosa should be re-elected alongside Ronald Lamola as his deputy.
The latest negotiations took place in Gauteng on Wednesday afternoon as KZN provincial secretary Bheki Mtolo, along with members of the PEC, met with their Gauteng counterparts to discuss the course of action going into December’s conference.
Those in the know say that there was a meeting between the Limpopo “don father” Danny Msiza and the Gauteng provincial leaders on Tuesday to iron out their agreements around the composition of the top officials.
Other meetings have involved Eastern Cape heavyweights Babalo Madikizela and suspended Amatole regional secretary Terris Ntutu, who are both lobbying for former Eastern Cape chair Masualle.
Msiza — a key figure in Limpopo’s politics — successfully lobbied for Limpopo provincial chairperson Stan Mathabatha to gain support in Gauteng.
This was expressed through two official statements by the province this week as Gauteng pronounced on Mathabatha as its preferred candidate for national chair ahead of the incumbent Gwede Mantashe and David Masondo, who is also contesting the position.
In a joint statement from Limpopo and Gauteng, the provincial leaders resolved to endorse Ramaphosa for a second term and Mashatile as his deputy with Mathabatha as the national chairperson.
The two provinces have also resolved to engage structures on Nomvula Mokonyane for the position of deputy secretary general.
“This collective represents the very best in the ANC and is the party’s strongest chance at ensuring continuity and renewal. The individual attributes of each of the proposed leaders make for a collective that has the necessary experience and track record of activism that is needed to actualise the ideals of a national democratic society.”
The Limpopo province will take the third-biggest delegation to the December conference behind KZN and the Eastern Cape. Gauteng will have the fourth-largest delegation.
Meanwhile, the Eastern Cape’s Madikizela and Ntutu, who support current treasurer general Mashatile for deputy president, are also busy attempting to convince Gauteng and Limpopo to pronounce in their favour.
The two ANC provincial leaders lost the Eastern Cape provincial conference, which saw Oscar Mabuyane re-elected for a second term.
Madikizela and Ntutu have sustained a relationship with their KZN counterparts who are hoping to leverage on their Eastern Cape influence to aid Mkhize in his bid for presidency.
The relationship between the two camps was solidified at the height of Mkhize’s battle with the Special Investigating Unit’s investigation around his Digital Vibes company, which led to his last-minute resignation.
Insiders say that Masualle, who lost a conference against Mabuyane in 2017, has made inroads with some KZN regional leaders. His prospects of becoming secretary general are contingent on Mkhize’s lobbyists getting buy-in from Gauteng and Limpopo. While Limpopo has yet to make any pronouncements on who it will endorse for the secretary general position, all indications point to an alignment between Madikizela and Msiza. The two are former provincial treasurers, having led during Mashatile’s term as treasurer general.
Both Madikizela and Msiza have been consistent in their support for Mashatile, however, they are likely to differ on some of the contested positions.
The former health minister is appealing a decision by the ANC’s integrity commission, which recommended that he be suspended.
The commission said Mkhize should be suspended until such time that the Digital Vibes corruption matter is resolved. In August last year the M&G reported that the commission had recommended that Mkhize step aside but the national executive committee failed to act on the ruling. It said that Mkhize’s association with Digital Vibes and corruption were seriously damaging the organisation.
Mkhize retreated to his home province in August 2021 after he had to resign from his cabinet post when impropriety in two contracts awarded to Digital Vibes came to light, implicating him and his family.
Mkhize was then seen meeting regional and traditional leaders in the province in an attempt to consolidate his base. In May, Mkhize announced that he would stand for party president against Ramaphosa.
While behind the scenes talks between provincial leaders in the ANC are still at an infancy phase, sources close to the horse trading negotiations say that the KwaZulu-Natal leadership has maintained its positive stance around Dr Zweli Mkhize.
The Mail & Guardian can now reveal that the KwaZulu-Natal top brass has met with at least three influential provinces in the ANC – Gauteng, Limpopo and Mpumalanga – saying that they do not wish to see a second term for president Cyril Ramaphosa.
KwaZulu-Natal is expected to pronounce on its prefered leaders as early as Tuesday with the latest indication pointing to the province leaning towards the disgraced former health minister as its preferred candidate to contest Ramaphosa for the governing party’s top job Aat its December conference.
On Wednesday evening, the eThekwini region was the first to announce that it had resolved to support Mkhize for president and Paul Mashatile for deputy president.
Naming their regional meeting a “festival of ideas,” the eThekwini region – the biggest in the ANC – said that there was a strong public perception that the governing party no longer focused on the “real issues” of service delivery and improving the lives of citizens.
“Critically, the festival agreed that a new president and new deputy president are needed to refocus the ANC and ultimately change the future of South Africa. In this regard, chairs and secretaries agreed on the names of Dr Zweli Mkhize as future president and Paul Mashatile as deputy president. For other positions, the regional executive committee will engage other regions as guided by the ANC provincial executive committee,” the region said in a statement.
It is understood that the Mzala Nxumalo region, Moses Mabidha region and Jozini sub-region have also endorsed Mkhize.
The eThekwini region has in the past played king maker for top six positions – including former president Jacob Zuma – and other regions have relied on its support. It also supported Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma’s failed presidential bid at the 2017 Nasrec conference where Ramaphosa was instead elected, albeit by a narrow margin.
Dlamini-Zuma’s late entry to the debate around contestation has been rejected by eThekwini despite the tacit endorsement of her campaign by her ex husband, former president Zuma.
According to party insiders close to the talks, negotiations between the KZN province have resulted in a deadlock as it has told provincial leaders that it will support Mkhize and Eastern Cape’s Phumulo Masualle as secretary general.
This was pronounced at a meeting with the Mpumalanga top brass who flew down to Durban on 12 September, according to insiders.
The Mpumalanga top brass is allegedly at odds over the preferred national leadership position, with deputy secretary Lindi Ntshalintshali allegedly saying that she did “not fully support” a second term for Rampahosa.
With Mpumalanga provincial treasurer Mandla Msibi having been brought back in the fold after murder charges against him where withdrawn, the two provincial figures are expected to lobby support for current deputy president David Mabuza ahead of Ramaphosa. This despite the majority in the provincial executive committee having expressed a view that Ramaphosa should be reelected alongside Ronald Lamola as his deputy.
The latest negotiations took place in Gauteng on Wednesday afternoon as KZN provincial secretary Bheki Mtolo along with members of the provincial executive committee met with their Gauteng counterparts to discuss a course of action going into December’s conference.
Those in the know say that there was a meeting between the Limpopo “don father” Danny Msiza, and the Gauteng provincial leaders on Tuesday to iron out their own agreements around the composition of the top officials.
Other meetings have involved Eastern Cape heavyweights Babalo Madikizela and suspended Amatole regional secretary Terris Ntutu, who are both lobbying for former Eastern Cape chair Masualle.
Msiza – a key figure in Limpopo’s politics – successfully lobbied for current Limpopo provincial chairperson Stan Mathabatha to gain support in Gauteng.
This was expressed through two official statements by the province this week as Gauteng pronounced on Mathabatha as their prefered candidate for national chair ahead of the incumbent Gwede Mantashe and David Masondo, who is also contesting the position.
In a joint statement from Limpopo and Gauteng, the provincial leaders resolved to endorse Ramaphosa for a second term and Mashatile as his deputy with Mathabatha as the national chairperson.
The two provinces have also resolved to engage structures on Nomvula Mokonyane, for the position of deputy secretary-general.
“This collective represents the very best in the ANC and is the party’s strongest chance at ensuring continuity and renewal. The individual attributes of each of the proposed leaders make for a collective that has the necessary experience and track-record of activism that is needed to actualise the ideals of a national democratic society.”
The Limpopo province will take the third biggest delegation to the December conference behind KZN and the Eastern Cape. Gauteng will have the fourth largest delegation.
Meanwhile, the Eastern Cape’s Madikizela and Ntutu who also support current treasurer general Mashatile for deputy president are also busy attempting to convince Gauteng and Limpopo to pronounce in their favour.
The two ANC provincial leaders lost the Eastern Cape provincial conference which saw Oscar Mabuyane reelected for a second term.
Madikizela and Ntutu have sustained a relationship with their KwaZulu-Natal counterparts who are hoping to leverage on their Eastern Cape influence to aid Mkhize in his bid for presidency.
The relationship between the two camps was solidified at the height of Mkhize’s battle with the SIU’s investigation around digital vibes which ultimately led to his last minute resignation.
Insiders say that Masualle, who also lost a conference against Mabuyane in 2017, has made inroads with some KZN regional leaders.
His prospects of becoming secretary general are contingent on Mkhize’s lobbyist getting a buy-in from Gauteng and Limpopo.
While Limpopo has yet to make any pronouncements on who they will endorse for the secretary general position, all indications point to an alignment between Madikizela and Msiza.
The two are former provincial treasurers, having led during Mashatile’s term as treasurer general.
Both Madikizela and Msiza have been consistent in their support for Mashatile, however they are likely to differ on some of the contested positions.
The former health minister is currently appealing a decision by the ANC’s integrity commission which recommended that he be suspended.
The commission said Mkhize should be suspended until such time that the Digital Vibes corruption matter is resolved. In August last year the M&G reported that the commission had recommended that Mkhize step aside but the NEC failed to act on the ruling. The report said that his association with Digital Vibes and corruption were seriously damaging the organisation.
Mkhize retreated to his home province in August 2021 after he had to resign from his cabinet post when impropriety in two contracts awarded to Digital Vibes came to light, implicating him and his family.
Mkhize was then seen meeting regional and traditional leaders in the province in an attempt to consolidate his base. In May, Mkhize announced that he would stand for party president against Ramaphosa.
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